Sun Microsystems is refashioning customer support options for Java Platform, Standard Edition (SE), extending support to 15 years under one paid plan and reducing it from six years to three years under an alternative free plan.

Featured is a new paid subscription program called Java SE for Business, which provides fixes for the 1.4, 5, and 6 versions of Java SE.

Under the previous plan, Sun provided quarterly fixes for release families of Java SE for six years, said Bill Curci, Sun product marketing manager for Java SE. “Now with Java SE for Business, customers can more than double that timeline to a total of 15 years where they can receive fixes per release family,” Curci said. Java SE is the basic runtime environment for desktops and servers.

ISVs, integrators, and service providers can offer Java SE for Business to their customers.

But quarterly updates for Java SE will be offered for just three years to those not opting for the Java SE for Business program; it had been six years but remains free. Also, support for the open source Java platform will continue via the OpenJDK (Java Development Kit) community.